Chris Bungard

On Saturday, Bellator returns to Dublin, Ireland, with a pair of compelling cards featuring some of Europe’s most notable talent.

Several proposed main events unfortunately fell through as the injury bug seemed to be in full effect for Bellator. Nonetheless, despite the more prominent card taking a major hit with Ireland’s own Peter Queally being forced to withdraw, his social media foe Chris Bungard was quick to fill the position in what will likely be his toughest test to date.

Bungard (15-5) will be facing former lightweight champion Brent Primus in the main event slot of Bellator 240, which takes place just before Bellator Dublin. Bungard will make history as the first Scottish fighter to headline a major MMA event. As a sporting nation, Scotland has been on the map for quite some time now, and having one of their own finally main eventing for an organization of Bellator’s magnitude is groundbreaking.

“I’m taking this fight on only a few week’s notice,” Bungard told Record Sport. “Obviously I would have liked a full fight camp to prepare, but I need to jump at this opportunity. This will be a very tough fight against the former champion, but I will take it to him.”

Dublin is a frequent stomping ground for “The Bad Guy,” as he regularly trains at SBG, home to famed UFC star Conor McGregor. For this reason, Bungard is excited to put on a show for the Irish fans.

“It is a dream to fight in Dublin, Ireland and an honor to be the first Scottish fighter to headline a major promotion.”

The Scotsman first burst onto the Bellator scene in February of last year when he dispatched of former BAMMA two-weight world champion Terry Brazier in just over two minutes. That night the 31-year-old asserted himself as a force to be reckoned with in the 155-pound division, however, Brazier is nowhere near the caliber of his upcoming opponent Brent Primus.

Primus boasts a professional record of nine victories with a single defeat; the slight blemish on his resume came at the hands of three-time champion and arguably the greatest athlete in the history of the promotion, Michael Chandler.

The Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt bounced back from his championship loss with a gogoplata submission victory in May. The maneuver won him numerous ‘Submission of the Month’ awards due to its rarity and sophistication. On top of having a full training camp for this fight, Primus has the upper hand in terms of competition he has faced. But as we all know with MMA, anything can happen on any given night and Chris Bungard will merrily rain on the former champions parade.

Along with Chris Bungard, fellow Scot Chris Duncan will be making his second outing for the promotion. If the two are successful come February 22, there is a possibility that we could be seeing Bellator touchdown in Glasgow for the very first time in the not too distant future.

Full fight card

Bellator Dublin

  • Leah McCourt (3-1) vs. Judith Ruis (6-4)
  • Charlie Ward (7-4) vs. Kyle Kurtz (10-7)
  • Aaron Chalmers (5-1) vs. Austin Clem (3-1)

Bellator 240

  • Brent Primus (9-1) vs Chris Bungard (15-5)
  • Kiefer Crosbie (7-1) vs Iamik Furtado (6-1)
  • Ricky Bandejas (12-3) vs Frans Mlambo (8-4)
  • Oliver Enkamp (8-2) vs Lewis Long (17-5)
  • Bec Rawlings (7-9) vs Elina Kallionidou (5-3)

Preliminary card

  • Chris Duncan (5-0) vs Ryan Roddy (8-1)
  • Richie Smullen (5-1-1) vs Ranjeet Baria (3-1)
  • Philip Mulpeter (10-6) vs. Daniel Crawford (10-3)
  • Karl Moore (9-2) vs. Arunas Andriuskevicus (14-4)
  • Will Fleury (6-2) vs. Justin Moore (9-2)
  • Blaine O’Driscoll (7-3) vs. Ezzoubair Bouarsa (7-1)
  • Danni Neilan (1-0) vs. Chiara Penco (4-1)

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